The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Secretariat held the 14^th meeting of the Regional Technical Team (RTT) for the SADC Fisheries Monitoring Control and Surveillance Coordination Centre (MCSCC) in Windhoek, Namibia, on 14 – 18 August 2023.

With the SADC Charter for Establishing the MCSCC, now in force, this meeting was critical for planning the next steps to implement the key functions of the Centre and to align the support of partners and gain interest from new supporting partners. The Executive Director of Namibia’s Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Ms Annely Haiphene, was represented by Mr Beau Tjizoo, Deputy Director of Fisheries Monitoring Control and Surveillance (MCS) in Namibia, who opened and welcomed the RTT.

The SADC Ministers responsible for Fisheries and Aquaculture appointed the RTT to oversee the establishment and operation of the SADC Regional Fisheries MCSCC. At the 14th meeting of the RTT, progress in the implementation of the Roadmap of the Interim Project Management Unit (IPMU) on the operationalisation of the MCSCC was reviewed. The meeting discussed the process of appointing candidates to the Board of Directors of the MCSCC, reviewed the implementation of projects supporting MCSCC, finalised procurement of MCS equipment with Member States (Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe for Lakes Malawi/Niassa/Nyasa and Kariba), and engaged in a write-shop to develop a draft Concept Note for a project to support MCSCC.

The meeting was supported by a range of Projects and Partners including SIF, WWF, FishFORCE Academy, TMT and Benguela Current Commission (BCC).

During the meeting, SIF Coordinator Per Erik Bergh gave presentations on ‘Proposed ideas for funding support to the MCSCC 2024 to 2029’ where he looked at the key functions and services of the MCSCC and clarified how SIF, through its projects, can support the Centre. His presentation on ‘SADC MCSCC SIF/TMT support for 2023-2025’ explored the activities that SIF and TMT have planned through the various projects they implement for the Centre and related projects and how these in turn can support the regional work. Mr. Bergh also spoke on ‘SADC Oceans Vigilance’, a project implemented by SIF with support from TMT and made possible through the support from Oceans 5, a sponsored project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. The purpose of this project is “Increasing fisheries transparency through a SADC Regional Record of Fishing Vessels.” Mr. Bergh explained that this project is inclusive of all the SADC coastal States – Angola, Comoros, DRC, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa and Tanzania. He further clarified the overall project objective and how it links to implementation of the SADC Charter, the four sub-objectives, the project 2023/2024 outputs and activities, and how countries can work together to achieve them.